Meanwhile, spoilery details of the upcoming episode hint that Ted won't likely get a good answer following his confession to Robin because Barney will set him up on a series of 'palate-cleansing' date

"How I Met Your Mother" left a cliffhanger in the end of its latest episode with [SPOILER ALERT!] Ted declaring his love for Robin. While it has been widely believed that Robin will not be the titular mother, executive producer Craig Thomas has an explanation why they revisit the idea of the pair.

"There's a new purpose for this happening for Ted and for Robin. It will spin off in a direction different from what we've seen before between the two of them," he argued. "We didn't feel like we were retreading ground."

Teasing what fans can expect when the show returns next week, Thomas revealed that Ted will ask for a response but assure Robin there's "no pressure." He went on describing, "It's sort of sweet and bittersweet. I like to think it goes in a direction that people won't see coming," before adding, "Robin's head is exploding."

While Thomas didn't divulge more details of the aftermath of Ted's confession, TV Guide has revealed that things won't go well for Ted after his love declaration. As the result, Barney will be setting Ted up on a series of "palate-cleansing" dates.

However, Barney's idea won't be helpful for Ted because "each girl Ted goes out with couldn't be more different from Robin - one is a hippie and another is a blinged-out hip-hop chick. But in Ted's mind, they're all just painful reminders of Robin."